Say's Phoebe
Memories of Balboa Park
There are many reasons to love Balboa Park. Anyone unfamiliar with the attractions there is truly missing out. The museums alone are worth visiting. There are 18 of them to…
Memories of Whelan Lake
In 2003, my pursuit of bird photography was budding. I knew Phil Unitt was ramrodding the San Diego County Bird Atlas project, and I wanted to contribute. Phil had a…
Memories of Pinyon Wells – Joshua Tree NP
2016 – Early October Camping I spent the second week of October with the bird and mammal department of the San Diego Natural History Museum in Joshua Tree National Park.…
Memories of Cottonwood Spring – Joshua Tree NP
Cottonwood Spring is located inside Joshua Tree National Park. Twice, in 2016, I visited there, with the science team from the San Diego Natural History Museum; once at the end…
Memories of Henderson Bird Viewing Preserve
The first time I visited the Henderson Bird Viewing Preserve was on 2015-05-05. I was starting out a long expedition of the western USA states and driving my Suzuki Samurai.…
Memories of Graham County, AZ
I visit Graham County as often as I can to visit long-time friends there. Below are notes from two such visits. 2020-05-22 Ascent To Mount Graham Mount Graham, called Dził…
Memories of Apache Creek, NM
I’ve been to the Apache Creek region in New Mexico two times. The following notes are from those occasions. My first visit to Apache Creek was in late May-2020, while…
2023-07-04~08 In The Davis Mountains
I stayed four nights at Davis Mountains State Park. For $20 a night with electricity, it was a bargain. I hoped it would give me a chance to make progress…
2023-04-13 Apache Creek NM
Last Tuesday (April-11) I left my friends in Thatcher, looking forward to spending some time with friends Debbie Merrill and her husband James. I met Debbie when I was working…
2023-04-09 Early April On Cottonwood Wash
Saturday, my friend Linda and I drove to visit her good friend Kai, who lives on the Cottonwood Wash south of Pima. I had the pleasure of spending time with…
2023 Continental Expedition Begins
Finally, I’m on the road. I launched at about 3pm last Monday, driving through Ramona and Santa Ysabel, then dropping into the Borrego Valley down Montezuma Pass. It is one…
2022-06-09 Getting to Whitehorse
My journey to Whitehorse was another long drive, and I took two days to cover the distance. I left Tuesday and didn’t pull into Whitehorse until Thursday. I slept Wednesday…
2020-12-22 Tuesday At Bosque del Apache
Before I left Albuquerque for points south, I stacked up several days’ worth of images from my last few photo safaris. Most times, I’d have boondock camped and worked on…
2020-12-18&19 At The Bernardo Unit – Ladd S. Gordon Waterfowl Complex
Halfway between Albuquerque and Bosque del Apache is the Ladd S. Gordon Waterfowl Complex – Bernardo Unit, where cranes and geese are now visiting more than at Bosque. My friend…
2020-12-09 A Morning in Corrales New Mexico
A friend of Jerry’s advised him that there were many cranes grazing in his Corrales neighborhood, so we drove there on Wednesday to investigate for ourselves. Jerry’s friend was right!…
2020-11-30 Monday at Bosque del Apache
I first visited Bosque del Apache in August 2003. Having heard of its legendary assembly of winter geese and cranes, I found a means for combining work in Santa Fe…
2020-11-28 End of November Gallery Updates
I finished the gallery updates from my half day at the Boyce Thompson Arboretum. As I pen these words, I’ve made my way into New Mexico. I’m in Glenwood, where…
2020-11-20 Mid-November Gallery Updates
I know I’ve been posting a lot lately about the updates on the bird species galleries I’ve been doing. This updating process is going to take a while. After all,…
2020-11-16 Monday at the Boyce Thompson Arboretum
The morning at the Boyce Thompson Arboretum started off slow. I like to hike to the top of the property where there is a pond called Ayers Lake. On the…
2020-11-09 Henderson Bird Viewing Preserve
After driving all day from Ely Nevada, I felt tuckered out. I didn’t want to boondock camp in Las Vegas, so I booked a night at an RV park in…
2020-05-27 Arivaca Cienega
After my visit to the Boyce Thompson Arboretum on Tuesday morning, I drove south 170 miles to Arivaca. The route I chose was not conventional, and I passed through Three…
2020-02-29 & March 1 At Mesilla Valley
Mesilla Valley Bosque State Park proved to be the best birding location in the Las Cruces area for my friend Jerry and I. I scouted the park briefly on Friday,…
Memories of Ramona Grasslands
There is a broad grassy valley running west from the Ramona Airport through Highland Valley. The County of San Diego has seen fit to make a preserve of the land…
Catching Up With Old Friends
I met my friend Linda in 1978 while I was living in Missoula Montana. Without going into too many details, it was one of the most interesting periods in my…
2013-05-17 Ramona Grasslands Again
This was my second visit in 2013 to the Ramona Grasslands. My first visit was a month earlier, and there were several new players on the stage for this act. The…
2017-10-27 a Week at Clover Flat
As a part of project to study the inland wetlands of San Diego County, the San Diego Natural History Museum’s science team spent the week at a property in the…
2017-06-17~20 Cottonwood Springs (Part 2)
On my previous post I shared images of the players in the Rat Theater, but I also had some nice avian encounters during this expedition. Mockingbirds, Mourning Doves and House…
2016-10-13 Pinyon Wells Critters
I recently posted about the trip I took last week to Pinyon Wells in Joshua Tree National Park with the Bird and Mammal Department of the San Diego Natural History…
2016-10-07 Joshua Tree Park: Birds Too!
Though the main course on the menu for my outing to Joshua Tree National Park wore fur, when feathers showed up I had to take a bite or two. I…
2015-05-06 Zion National Park
After I left Henderson I got through Las Vegas as efficiently as I could manage (no easy feat). I drove about 135 miles north on I-15 to Saint George Utah…
2015-01-27 Tijuana River Valley
I went on this day, seeking a reported Eastern Phoebe, a bird that does not belong on the west coast (guess we forgot to tell this bird). While I roamed…
2014 At The Ramona Grasslands
Just inland from where I live in Poway California, and 900 feet higher in elevation, sits the community of Ramona California. This high valley historically has been an agricultural area,…